San Romualdo, Saint of the day for June 19th

(c. 950-19 June, 1027)

The history of San Romualdo 

In the midst of a wasted youth, Romuald saw his father kill a relative in a duel on property. In horror, he fled to a monastery near Ravenna. After three years, some of the monks found him uncomfortable and simplified him.

Romuald spent the next 30 years traveling around Italy, founding monasteries and hermitages. He wanted to give his life to Christ in martyrdom and obtained the pope's permission to preach the Gospel in Hungary. But he was struck by the disease as soon as he arrived and the disease recurred every time he tried to proceed.

During another period of his life, Romuald suffered a great spiritual dryness. One day while praying Psalm 31 ("I will give you understanding and teach you"), he was given an extraordinary light and spirit that never left him.

In the next monastery where he stayed, Romuald was accused of a scandalous crime by a young nobleman who had scolded for a dissolute life. Surprisingly, his fellow monks believed the accusation. He was given severe penance, was forbidden to offer mass and excommunicated, an unjust condemnation which he suffered in silence for six months.

The most famous of the monasteries that Romuald founded was that of the Camaldoli in Tuscany. Here began the Order of the Camaldolese Benedictines, combining monastic and hermetic life. In later life Romuald's father became a monk, faltered and was kept faithful by the encouragement of his son.

Reflection

Christ is a kind leader, but calls us to total holiness. Occasionally, men and women have grown up to challenge us with the absoluteness of their dedication, the vigor of their spirit, the depth of their conversion. The fact that we cannot duplicate their lives does not change the call to us to be totally open to God in our particular circumstances.